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The three-act structure is a model used in narrative fiction that divides a story into three parts , often called the Setup, the Confrontation, and the Resolution. Syd Field described it in his 1979 book Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting .
The three-act structure is a common structure in classical film and other narrative forms in or associated with the West. [3] [4]First described in the fourth century A.D. by Aelius Donatus in his commentary on the works of Terence, the form was popularized by Syd Field in Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting.
The Roman drama critic Horace advocated a 5-act structure in his Ars Poetica: "Neue minor neu sit quinto productior actu fabula" (lines 189–190) ("A play should not be shorter or longer than five acts"). He also argued for a Chorus, "The Chorus should play an actor’s part, energetically," and the center of the play should be morality as ...
The conception of the three-act structure has been attributed to American screenwriter Syd Field who described plot structure in this tripartite way for film analysis. Furthermore, in order to sell a book within the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia, often the plot structure is split into a synopsis.
The sequence approach mimics that early style. The story is broken up into eight 10–15 minute sequences. The sequences serve as "mini-movies", each with their own compressed three-act structure. The first two sequences combine to form the film's first act. The next four create the film's second act.
Field's most notable contribution is his paradigm "three-act structure". In this structure, a writer sets a film's plot within the first twenty to thirty minutes. Then the protagonist experiences a plot point, providing the protagonist with a goal. About half of a movie's running time focuses on the protagonist's struggle to achieve this goal.
The BS2 follows classic three-act structure but is more specific. Snyder refers to each act as thesis, antithesis, and synthesis, respectively. Opening Image (p. 1) – The Opening Image is the first visual of any movie, and it should give an impression of the movie's tone, mood, type, and scope. Theme Stated (p. 5) – A secondary character ...
He proposes that a well-structured movie has two main plot points within a three-act structure. [2] [3] The first major plot point occurs 20–30 minutes into the film (assuming a standard 120-minute running time), and the second major one occurs 80–90 minutes into the film. The first plot point ends Act I and propels the story into Act II ...